Young Demon Jai Culley will undergo surgery on Saturday, following an arm fracture during training at Casey Fields on Friday.
It's a devastating setback for the 22-year-old, with the procedure placing Culley on the sidelines for approximately four weeks, putting his Round 1 aspirations in jeopardy.
General Manager of AFL Football Performance Alan Richardson said the club would take a cautious approach to Culley's recovery.
“This was a really unfortunate incident, which took place during our training session on Friday,” Richardson said.
“Scans have confirmed that this was an arm fracture and Jai will have surgery tomorrow to start recovery as soon as possible.
“We are optimistic that he will be able to maintain his fitness while he is in rehab program.
"We will have a clearer picture of his return to play timeline post-surgery; however, we expect this to be approximately four weeks.”
Culley was on pace to be a lock to be named into Melbourne's best 23 in Round 1 after shining during pre-season in the Dees' new-look engine room under senior coach Steven King.
Having added size and strength, as well as bringing a high-level work rate, Culley was poised to be the Melbourne midfielder who helps fill the hole left by Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver.
The 194cm talent, who will coincidentally wear Oliver's vacant No.13 jumper, is positioned to be a key piece of Melbourne's midfield unit for 2026 after just four games at AFL level this year, three of which came in Troy Chaplin's trio of appearances as interim.
